Epona

Sara's diary

Home, home on the range brings all new pictures after this latest trip to Captain Chris Larabee's ranch just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. It was a combination of training time and I suppose outing for the off worlders. Both Teal'c and Drey'auc had looked forward to the trip, with Buck taking them out to buy cowboy hats. Our Jaffa couple was quite the pair, Teal'c looked great in the one he chose, as did Drey'auc though she couldn't decide on just one at first so she picked several to wear. Vin looked forward to a visit his horse that Chris put up at his ranch, the visiting Tok'ra only vaguely knew what to expect.

What prompted all of this preparation is that an upcoming joint mission with the Tok'ra to a world run by a Goa'uld called Epona. Her provinces are not only no where close to a Stargate, they often are spread out and require horses to travel between them. She doesn't allow aircraft unless it is absolutely necessary and even then it had better be traveling to her parked Ha'tak and not to any of her settlements. So those who don't know how to ride a horse would stick out if not fail utterly to get anywhere quickly.

What the trip to PXA-460 proved is that not everyone is comfortable on horseback. So Chris offered his ranch and lessons, much to one Dr. Nathan Jackson's relief and to think of it, mine too. Jacob lead the Tok'ra delegation that included Martouf and that made Sam a very happy woman. I wonder if they're going to work on that spark I see between them. I can understand her hesitating, we are talking a romance with someone from another world, and confusion with how much the attraction is from what was Jolinar and what Sam has. Still, as Jack and I learned, life is short, she may not wish to take too long to think about it.

I'm not sure if it was Teal'c's first visit to the ranch or after Jack's western movie night, but either or both had Drey'auc asking me about learning to ride a horse. She wanted to go, which meant I had to go. We're friends so I'd want to go, but she's also still my primary job with the SGC.

Drey'auc did better than I did, or Nathan for that matter with riding for the first time. Some Tok'ra did better than others, it depended on if any of their host or symbiote had ever even heard of a horse or the concept of riding an animal. Unlike them, I had heard of horses and while I'm not sure about these days, they did seem to be part of a phase every girl goes through growing up. Not to mention having watched plenty of westerns growing up as I did catch the tail end of the western phase of television.

That said, yes I'm a rural girl, but my growing up was helping dad around the garage he owned, not on a farm that might have stables attached. Ask me to drive a tow truck, and I'm your girl, ask me about riding horses and I'd give you a blank look, or make some comment about Roy Rogers. With all of that background I still spent more time watching Drey'auc or Jack riding than learning to ride myself.

I suspect Janet saw more than one movie growing up, and she also had gone through the horse phase as a girl. Cassie is about the right age, which explains part of her excitement being out here. She had also watched some westerns with Janet during one of their mother-daughter bonding times. Buck took particular like to getting her a cowboy hat of her own. Janet originally did come along just to be the medic, and we weren't getting her up on a horse until Cassie insisted that she try to learn at the same time she did. It really shouldn't have been a surprise that she did so well. Janet may be the shortest of us, but unlike some of the riders she didn't balk in showing the horse who was boss.

I think she was getting to like it near the end, though she was unlikely to get Cassie a pony as much as Chris volunteered to make sure it was a good one. All in all both daughter and mother did have a great time learning to ride together.

Janet was far more enthusiastic about square dancing, though like me surprised that it was Drey'auc who asked about it. Jack was trying to talk Teal'c and Daniel to provide a united front to deny her, but Teal'c wouldn't go along and while he didn't say it in so many words I think he was curious to what square dancing might be like.

Josiah turned out to be a good fiddler, and Buck just called out the dance like a pro. Not that I know what a professional square dance caller would sound like, just what movies I grew up watching. Martouf had a wide smile throughout the dance, Cassie giggled her way through it, and JD was adorable taking the time to be her first partner. I don't know who arranged for Vin to be her second partner, but the boys were making her feel like a little princess, I'm sure of it.

Speaking of princess, and not that she was acting like one, it was just that I noticed Sam certainly had her share of dance partners. Martouf of course, he learned how to square dance with her, then her father, Jack took a whirl with her, and Claire made sure Daniel did, with Teal'c making it a team event. JD and I were sure Vin was going to blush to his roots when it was time for him to get to dance with Sam. She has quite the following on base, Vin and Will being admiring her differently than her hero-worshipping cousin JD.

Chris did let Buck get a chance to dance, and under Teal'c's tolerant gaze, Drey'auc had the first dance, then he did the circuit, me, Cassie, Claire, Raine, Sam of course, finishing with Janet. From the stunned faces following that couple I think we were more amazed that she let him be her partner. Janet had not indulged any of his flirting that anyone knew of. It was a shame Ezra couldn't join us, but as nice as he's been, as good as he's done, he still committed a pretty big national security offense. It might be a very long time before he's allowed out of the mountain beyond going offworld with SG-7.

I did love the bonfire that Chris set up that last Saturday night of our stay there on the ranch. Great cuddle time with Jack with the large roaring fire and I think Teal'c and Drey'auc were also actually displaying some affection between each other in public. It seems our two Jaffa are being thoroughly corrupted by their Tau'ri associations.

Martouf certainly seem as if he wanted to be corrupted that way. I wasn't watching the too much, and so I don't know if they ended up cuddled together or not, but when last I looked he and Sam were awfully close to one another around the bonfire.

Claire was trying to keep her son from feeling too melancholy, I didn't hear all of the conversation, but Jack was there for part of it. Daniel wanted to share this with Sha're, the riding, the bonfire, the different sort of desert around Phoenix, and Jack assured him he would. Chris promised to make sure they had time to come here and do just that. In essence, the teams were there for Daniel.

During our stay Drey'auc had insisted on doing as many 'western' things as possible. Buck taught her how to use a lasso, Vin with some trick riding, and wouldn't you know it, she was getting good at it and much to my relief, Chris didn't have any horses that needed breaking in. Drey'auc had wanted to ride a bucking bronco, and I shot a look at Chris and Jack when they hinted maybe next time, Jack shot another look back.

His was amused gaze, those gorgeous eyes of his sparkling with mischief as he fished out car keys from his pocket and wiggled them around, reminding me of Drey'auc's driving lessons. He's right, I didn't have to teach her a how to do a bootleg turn. With that reminder I had to concede the point of perhaps riding a bucking horse may not be that wild an idea after all. That aside Jack and I did join our Jaffa couple for one thing westernly that I thought was very romantic with the right man by my side.

They did both insist on riding into the sunset one night.

Drey'auc's Kel'noreem

It was glorious! The wind running through my hair, the thunder of the hooves beneath me, the magnificent beast carried me at speeds across the landscape stained with red of the setting sun. Not everyday as Captain Larabee's schedule of training was often from early light to sunset. Each night I found it hard to settle my thoughts for kel'noreem from the excitement of the day.

Captain Carter took us into Phoenix to shop for the right things to wear for our horseback riding to go along with the cowboy hat Commander Wilmington had given my husband and I. We went to several merchants before finding 'jeans' that fit someone as tall as I and I noticed just like when we shopped for cowboy boots, the shopkeepers often just stared at me. I rather enjoyed that almost as much as Teal'c looming over them soon afterwards. Captain Carter gaped herself and then blushed when I asked about getting halter-tops, yet we did spend some time finding 'the right ones', yet she did not acquiesced to my request to shop for 'daisy dukes'. Sara explained that was country not western, though I thought I heard the term used together in some context.

Sara also told me dancing square was not on the schedule Captain Larabee originally laid out for us, but after hearing of my interest, Commander Wilmington talked to him into adding it to our schedule. That meant another trip into the city to shop for dresses to dance squarely with. It did mystify me when Sara and O'Neill looked oddly when Teal'c and I wanted to have one set of attire with rhinestones in them. Still they obliged if only with the promise from O'Neill that we only wear them at the ranch and not in public. I do not know why, but it must be a Tau'ri custom surrounding the wearing of rhinestone laced garments.

O'Neill suggested we let Sara sleep in on several mornings that Captain Larabee offered to teach Teal'c and I how to shoot six-guns, though O'Neill corrected me that the weapon is called a six-gun despite its clear singularity. We did know enough reality and fiction to never think of challenging an enemy to a show up, to 'Call them out'. Jaffa are taught to not fight fairly outside of an official duel. Though to me it did appear that a show up, O'Neill kept saying show down, is what a Jaffa would call a duel. Customs of the Tau'ri are strange.

I also enjoy their dancing square. It was fun to whirl to the beat, stomp feet and move to the steps Commander Wilmington called out. Jaffa did not have such dances as our celebrations were more to worship whichever particular false god we had to serve. Most Goa'uld had specific dancers picked out among the humans, to do so ourselves was unheard of. This is another custom I must share with my sisters and the rest of the Jaffa. One day we shall dance to the beat of freedom.

Teal'c did not object to one Tau'ri custom we observed O'Neill and Sara partaking of, and that is holding one another in the presence of a large fire. We have seen it on some films shown more when Claire Jackson, Captain Carter, Sara, Doctor Frasier or Cassandra Frasier choose the movie rather than O'Neill, or Daniel Jackson.

So now we kel'noreem on the last night before we return to the stronghold. Out on a mesa in the dying light of the sunset. Captain Larabee and O'Neill arranged for us and Vin-ko-taneck-o-pentay to have the opportunity to climb and reach this place where my husband and I could kel'noreem together before our return to our fight with the Goa'uld from the provinces of Epona to the fortress of Sokar.